A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: Vietnam was a devastating war. From the Communist North to the U.S. supported South, it was one nation brutally torn apart, and at the heart of it, one man. Lt. Colonel John Paul Vann is one of the first U.S. senior military advisers sent to Vietnam. Vann is as complex as the war itself--a husband and father who takes lovers as casually as he takes control of every situation...except one. In Vietnam, Vann finds himself fighting a war he cannot win alongside a corrupt and demoralized South Vietnamese Army. But what leads a man to expose the truth and sacrifice his career? To fly from a loving home to a war-torn battlefield. To turn from a soldier of strategy to a general of ruthless bombing campaigns which can destroy what they cannot defeat.

GIA: It's late '70s New York. Studio 54, designer jeans, drugs and disco. One girl is living life in the fast lane. She can have any man -- or any woman -- she wants. Sex, money, glamour, fame, it's all within her reach. She walks toward you across the dance floor, struts toward you down the runway, stares at you from the cover of a magazine. She's a goddess. She's a star. Her name is GIA.

GOTTI: This is the story of John GOTTI -- the rise and fall of a real-life "Godfather." John GOTTI (Armand Assante) is destined to rise to the top of his business...and his business is crime. Under the watchful eye of his mentor Neil Delacroce (Anthony Quinn), nothing stands in GOTTI's way. And when the time is right to strike -- regardless of the Mafia code -- GOTTI strikes. The execution of mob boss Paul Castellano on the streets of New York takes GOTTI straight to the top as Don of the powerful Gambino family. To the public, he's the much-loved, stylish 'Dapper Don'. But to the FBI he's a crook who's slipped from their grasp, hailed by the media as 'The Teflon Don.' But GOTTI's method of rising to power, through sudden violence and broken rules, will also lead to his downfall. When the FBI obtains tapes of GOTTI downplaying his chief executioner, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, they know they have him in their grasp. If Sammy can be persuaded to talk, the FBI can scratch the 'Teflon Don' for good.

INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE: Actress, dancer, singer. Here was a woman with talent, beauty and ambition. Dorothy Dandridge owed it to herself to make it to the top. And make it, she would. An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of Carmen Jones, becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.

RKO 281: New from Executive Producers Tony Scott (Enemy of The State) and Ridley Scott (Thelma and Louse), RKO 281, the working title for Citizen Kane, has been called the greatest movie of all time. Its visionary creator, Orson Welles, was only 24 when he arrived in Hollywood following the acclaim and scandal that erupted over the live radio broadcast of War of The Worlds. This was to be his first motion picture. The subject? An aging, obsessive newspaper publisher who controlled his enemies as ruthlessly as he controlled his friends; whose lavish estate was half the size of Rhode Island; and whose mistress was destined for fame whether she wanted it or not. He would bear so close a resemblance to the wealthy newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, that Hearst himself would do anything to shut the movie down. The battle between Welles and Hearst over Citizen Kane is the stuff of legend, rich with tales of sexual blackmail, money changing hands and threats behind closed doors. Now those doors are being opened. Take a front row seat. The battle over RKO 281 is about to begin.

THE RAT PACK: They had "the world on a string". Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, known as the THE RAT PACK, set the style and the pace for 1950's America as the nation roller-coastered it's way towards the swinging '60's. But can the high life last forever? If Frank and the boys have their way by electing John F. Kennedy, the party has only just begun.

TRUMAN: He was a common man - a failed farmer, shopkeeper and county politician - who became one of America's greatest presidents. A leader of men and a man whose decisions would change the world: Harry S. TRUMAN. Gary Sinise is "Give 'Em Hell" Harry TRUMAN, a simple man of the people who led America and guided the world through the most troubled period in history. It was an era of tremendous unrest and a tough time to be President. TRUMAN led a nation through the end of World War II, the beginning of the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights and the creation of the United Nations. But whatever decisions he shared with the world, one decision had to be his alone. The buck stopped with TRUMAN when America dropped the first atomic bomb, ending the war with Japan. Through it all, Harry TRUMAN lived true to his aim "to serve the people - not to control them." This is his remarkable story.
 
"[Gia] Jolie gives a sensational performance in this tight, but tragic biopic..."  Clint Morris, MovieHole
"[Bright] ...terrific action scenes...an involving film..."  Doug Pratt, DVDLaser.com
"[Introducing] ...an accordingly respectful tribute."  Michael Dequina, Mr. Brown's Movies
"[Rat] Inventive biopic mixes politics and history with dazzling color and visual style..."  Michael E. Grost, Classic Film & Television
"[Truman] An excellent biopic anchored by a marvelous job by Sinise."  Rob Thomas, Capital Times
"[Gotti] ...enthusiastically and self-assertively played by Mr. Assante...well crafted..."  Stefan Hedmark, The MovieHamlet
 


Editor's Note

This multi-pack contains seven dramas, which originally aired on cable television: A BRIGHT SHINING LIE, GIA, GOTTI, INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, RKO 281, THE RAT PACK, and TRUMAN. See individual titles for detailed information.